Oaks Top 10

Prep season is over, and now it's time to get down to business. A deep field will line up for the GI Kentucky Oaks, led by the undefeated Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro). In most years, she'd be 4-5 or lower, but there are enough quality fillies lining up for the race that you might see 2-1 on her. Since the last installment, La Cara (Street Sense) moved up the charts with a win in the GI Ashland S., Ballerina d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) nosed out Early On (Union Rags) to win...

The last week of preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks is upon us. The GI Ashland Stakes will be run Friday at Keeneland on opening day and Aqueduct will offer the GIII Gazelle Stakes the next day. The Gazelle came up predictably weak, but the Ashland has some intriguing contenders that could crack the top three or four come Friday. Last week, Quietside (Malibu Moon) was a convincing winner of the GII Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn and Five G (Vekoma) never looked back to win the GII Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park...

Here's a look at the sixth installment of our Kentucky Oaks Top 10 for 2025: Things are really starting to heat up. Last weekend saw Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro), who is now 6 for 6, winning the Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks. For now, she looks like a strong favorite in the GI Kentucky Oaks. At Turfway Park, Bless the Broken (Laoban) won the Bourbonette Oaks, but didn't show enough versus a weak field to crack our top 10. This will be a huge weekend of preps that will include the...

It was a busy weekend with GI Kentucky Oaks preps being run at Santa Anita, Aqueduct and Gulfstream. None of the winners did enough to crack the top four, but they all have a license to improve. We've dropped the bottom three from last week's list--Running Away (Gun Runner), Runnin N Gunnin (Gun Runner) and White Rocks (Frosted)--and replaced them with horses who appear to have more potential. It will be a quiet week as there is not a single stakes race for 3-year-old fillies that will be run this...

This could only happen to Brad Cox. He trained the best 2-year-old filly in the country last year as Eclipse Award winner Immersive (Nyquist) whipped everything she faced, including eight challengers in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Earlier this year, she looked like the runaway leader among the fillies eyeing the GI Kentucky Oaks, but came down with a minor injury and will not be ready in time for the Oaks. For most other trainers that would have been a severe setback, losing out on a chance they may...

Last week, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced that its Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) standing committee was replacing three outgoing members with new ones. Among them was David Ingordo, arguably the first hands-on horseman the group has seated. The committee is required by federal law to be composed of four independent members and three industry representatives. The committee plays a key role in advising and assisting HISA with the establishment of comprehensive rules and protocols for its ADMC Program, including the prohibited substances list, laboratory testing standards, and...

Prep season for the GI Kentucky Oaks is over and we have a pretty good idea of who is going to be in the race and which ones are the horses to beat. With three major preps--the GI Ashland S., the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GIII Gazelle S.--all run over the weekend, there was plenty of movement in our Top 10. But the very solid Tarifa (Bernardini) maintains the top spot for Brad Cox. Here's a look at the latest installment of our Kentucky Oaks Top Ten: 1)...

It's come down to the last few preps. An outstanding field will meet Friday at Keeneland in the GI Ashland S. Four horses on our Top 10 list will take part in that race. At Aqueduct, they'll be vying for a spot in the field for the GI Kentucky Oaks in the GIII Gazelle S. At Santa Anita, fillies will contest the GII Santa Anita Oaks, but the horse expected to be he heavy favorite, Kinza (Carpe Diem), is trained by Bob Baffert and is therefore ineligible to run in...

The GII Davona Dale S., run last Saturday at Gulfstream, was all about the return of Eclipse Award winner Just F Y I (Justify). But she was scratched with a fever, delaying her 3-year-old debut. At Aqueduct, Jody's Pride (American Pharoah) won the Busher S., picking up enough points to guarantee her a spot in the GI Kentucky Oaks. It will be a relatively quiet weekend for the horses on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. The GIII Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita will be headlined by Kinza (Carpe...

Things are starting to heat up. Saturday's Busher S. at Aqueduct and Saturday's GII Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream both have the potential to shake things up. The Davona Dale will feature the return of 2-year-old champion filly Just FYI (Justify) and what looks to be an up-and-coming star in Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief). The Busher will feature Jody's Pride (American Pharoah), who was the runner-up behind Just FYI in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Here's a look at the fourth installment of our Kentucky Oaks Top 10. 1)...

Churchill Downs' ban of Bob Baffert and the decision by his owners to keep their horses with the trainer, even though that means they cannot run at Churchill, will affect not just the Derby. Though Baffert's group of 3-year-old fillies is not as deep or as impressive as his collection of 3-year-old colts, he does have some fillies that, in a normal year, would be Oaks candidates. He has GII Starlet S. winner Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon). But his best filly may be Kinza (Carpe Diem), who rocketed to...

With the GI Ashland S., the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GIII Gazelle S. topping last week's action, all the preps have been run and the field for the GI Kentucky Oaks is all but set. Who will be the favorite? Who is the filly to beat? In a year where the division is overrun with quality, those aren't easy questions to answer. It should be a heck of a race. 1) SECRET OATH (Arrogate--Absinthe Minded, by Quiet American) O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D....